Exports help drive up region's total economy

Sector increases three times faster than broader economy

By Eric Anderson

Published 6:23 pm, Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Photo: Cindy Schultz

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Clerk David Martino, center, keeps track of inventory as a longshoreman unloads turbine parts for General Electric on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013, at the Port of Albany in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Clerk David Martino, center, keeps track of inventory as a longshoreman unloads turbine parts for General Electric on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013, at the Port of Albany in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Photo: Cindy Schultz

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The Kathleen Turecamo tugboat on the Hudson River on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013, at the Port of Albany in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

The Kathleen Turecamo tugboat on the Hudson River on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013, at the Port of Albany in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Photo: Cindy Schultz

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The main crane of loading and unloading ships on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013, at the Port of Albany in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

The main crane of loading and unloading ships on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013, at the Port of Albany in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Photo: Cindy Schultz

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A longshoreman unloads turbine parts for General Electric on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013, at the Port of Albany in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

A longshoreman unloads turbine parts for General Electric on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013, at the Port of Albany in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Storage sheds on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013, at the Port of Albany in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Storage sheds on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013, at the Port of Albany in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Photo: Cindy Schultz

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The Kathleen Turecamo tugboat at the dock on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013, at the Port of Albany in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

The Kathleen Turecamo tugboat at the dock on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013, at the Port of Albany in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Photo: Cindy Schultz

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Exports help drive up region's total economy

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Albany

While exports of goods and services still make up a relatively small portion of the Capital Region's economy, their growth helped buffer the area during the recession, according to a new study from the Brookings Institution.

"Exports grew three times faster than the broader economy" in the three years from 2009 to 2012, said Nick Marchio, a senior research assistant at Brookings. "The extra sales generated through trade can buffer (other) declines."

The top three losses in exports were engine and power equipment down $18.7 million; resins and synthetic rubbers down $18 million; and basic chemicals down $12.2 million.

The top three gainers were research and development services up $61.8 million; semiconductors up $56.3 million; and information technology royalties up $30.3 million.

Exports' share of total metropolitan output placed the Capital Region 85th of the nation's top 100 metros in 2003, but it improved its rank to 80th by 2012, Marchio said.

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The Brookings study measures output by the place it was produced. The crude oil exported through the Port of Albany wouldn't count, but semiconductors produced at GlobalFoundries presumably would.

Despite the drop in engine and power equipment exports, primarily General Electric products, still ranked as the region's biggest export at $529 million, 11.3 percent of total exports. Pharmaceuticals, including products from Albany Molecular Research and Regeneron, were second at $363 million, with resins and synthetic rubbers, including SI Group and Momentive Performance Materials, third at $297 million.

While services make up just 29 percent of overall exports nationwide, in the Capital Region that figure is 47 percent of the total.